Providing Lifesaving Food and Precious Dignity

Many of us think of a gift card as a thoughtful present to spend on something we might not otherwise buy for ourselves. But for impoverished people in Israel, the gift of a food card provided by The Fellowship's FILL THE PANTRY food drive is a source of lifesaving meals. With Passover now just days away, these lifesaving gifts mean all the more to these struggling families.

Today in Israel, one in five children go to bed hungry. Their parents may be new immigrants struggling to learn Hebrew so they can get a job, or single mothers left to make ends meet on their own, or a parent dealing with a debilitating illness.

Parents like Aviv, a single mother in southern Israel who is battling cancer. "The medicine that I am prescribed is to save my life," she explains, "yet making sure that the pantry isn't empty for my daughter is more important."

Like Aviv, all of these mothers and fathers share the heartbreak of seeing their children go hungry – and feeling helpless to provide for the people they love the most in the world.

When Passover comes, a holy season when Jews are commanded in the Bible to celebrate with a special Seder meal, their poverty is especially painful. This should be a sacred day – and instead it is just another day of hunger and need.

The Fellowship launched our FILL THE PANTRY Passover food campaign to provide more than a quarter of a million impoverished Jewish people in Israel and the former Soviet Union with food boxes filled with food staples as well as the special items needed to celebrate the Seder with dignity.

Because the need is so great, The Fellowship is also providing 16,000 Israeli families in need with food cards just in time for Passover. The cards allow these parents to their local grocery store and buy matzah and other special holiday foods, or purchase foods that accommodate any special medical and dietary needs their children may have – giving them a sense of pride at being able to shop and provide for their family.